Rumor: Apple multi-device wireless charger coming 2018, Belkin & Mophie to support iPhone ...

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2017
While the iPhone X and iPhone 8 are expected to feature support for wireless inductive charging, customers will need to rely on accessories from third-party manufacturers at launch, with an unconfirmed rumor claiming Belkin and Mophie will be stepping up to the plate.




An anonymous source who reached out to AppleInsider on Tuesday said Apple is planning its own multi-device inductive wireless charging accessory to launch in the first quarter of 2018.

The veracity of the claims could not be verified, however the information does align with a separate report from earlier Tuesday claiming Apple will not offer its own wireless chargers alongside the iPhone X and iPhone 8. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said customers would have to rely on third-party accessories, but did not offer any specific companies.

AppleInsider's unconfirmed source did, however, name two major brands: Belkin and Mophie, both known for charging docks and battery cases. It's likely that the companies could fill the void with inductive charging pads, and potentially even battery cases that would not need to occupy the Lightning port, thus leaving it free for wired headphones.

Further, the source claimed that Apple's own charger will launch at some point between January and March of 2018. They indicated that the charger will be a multi-device accessory, which would imply support for the Apple Watch as well as iPhone X and iPhone 8.




If Apple plans to launch its own wireless charging accessory next year, it's highly unlikely that such an accessory would get a mention at today's keynote unveiling.

Such a move would not be entirely unprecedented. The first Apple Watch went on sale in April of 2015, but the official Magnetic Charging Dock did not launch until November, leaving users with just the bundled USB cable charger as the only first-party solution for 7 months.

It's expected that all three of Apple's new iPhones will support the Wireless Power Consortium's Qi standard. Whether or not accessories require a Made for iPhone certification chip, however, remains to be seen.

It's also expected that the iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 will include USB3 Lightning ports, allowing for quick charge capabilities like on the iPad Pro. Wireless inductive charging will not be able to juice the iPhones at the same fast rate.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    cornchipbshank
  • Reply 2 of 18
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    nhughes said:
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    Yes, but leaving it to others…?
    That worked so well with the LG monitors. 
    pscooter63anantksundaramnhughes
  • Reply 3 of 18
    It seems really odd to me that Apple would not have this at launch. Maybe focusing on the important stuff? But really just seems crazy to me that they would not have their own wireless method from launch. Unless of course this is not true.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    We will know in couple of hours. If Apple puts wireless chairing on iphone than wouldn't leave out it's own accompanying accessory at launch. .
  • Reply 5 of 18
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    FWIW:
    1. I like the convenience of inductive charging on my Watch.  Minor convenience, but nice.
    2. Wireless charging of iPhone potentially helps with waterproofing by eliminating one use-case for a physical hole (port) in the device.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    we should be thinking about solar powered phones.....once our electric grid is zapped, most people are screwed...at least let them check their selfies
  • Reply 7 of 18
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    I have to agree. It's a gee-wiz feature that techies like to drool over. You still have to have a charger placed somewhere and that charger has to be close to an electrical outlet. The only difference is the charging cable that connects to the device. The device does not remain mobile. The convenience feature is minor at best. I fear Apple has added 'wireless' charging solely to assuage the techies who think it's absolutely necessary. Maybe when there are no physical ports left and a device can truly be made waterproof.
    cornchip
  • Reply 8 of 18
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    nhughes said:
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    I still find it strange that wireless charging is one of the tent pole features of the iPhone 8 (not so much with the X) and they won't have an Apple branded charger.

    I don't feel comfortable buying a non-Apple charger after the Samdung Note7 fiasco.

    Seems to be an easy accessory to make.
    Who said Apple will not have chargers ready at launch? Certainly not Apple. The usual suspects have made the rumor true?
  • Reply 9 of 18
    Rayz2016 said:
    nhughes said:
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    Yes, but leaving it to others…?
    That worked so well with the LG monitors. 
    wood1208 said:
    We will know in couple of hours. If Apple puts wireless chairing on iphone than wouldn't leave out it's own accompanying accessory at launch. .
    I agree with these sentiments, but must also note that the current state of charging with Apple products is a shitshow.

    Obvious example: If you buy a new MacBook Pro, you cannot charge your iPhone or iPad through it without spending $30 for a USB-C to Lightning cable. And if you buy an Apple Watch, there is no USB-C to watch cable *at all* — your only real option would be to buy a USB-C to Lightning cable, and then get Apple's $80 magnetic dock (with female Lightning port). That's like $110 plus tax just to charge your watch through your MacBook Pro.

    And don't even get me started on the iPad Pro, which ships with a paltry 12W power adapter even though both models can support a 29W adapter with USB-C. The fact that the 12W power adapter ships with the 12.9" iPad Pro in 2017 is inexcusable.

    And then there's Beats. The Beats Pill speaker and BeatsX headphones recharge through Lightning, but other products (including the brand new Beats Studio 3 Wireless and the Powerbeats 3) recharge through microUSB. Not Lightning, not even USB-C.

    Logically, I think Apple should offer a wireless charging accessory at launch (and I really hope they do). Rumors suggest they will not — and frankly, given the mess I just summarized, would that be so surprising?
    edited September 2017 [Deleted User]cornchip
  • Reply 10 of 18
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    FWIW:
    1. I like the convenience of inductive charging on my Watch.  Minor convenience, but nice.
    2. Wireless charging of iPhone potentially helps with waterproofing by eliminating one use-case for a physical hole (port) in the device.
    RE # 2. They will not make wireless charging the only method of charging the phone, thereby forcing everybody to go out and purchase multiple charging accessories for home/car/work etc.

    Any charging system that precludes you from using the phone while it is charging is fundamentally limiting and will never become the only method of charging. Now, if they could somehow develop a system that could charge from 2-4 feet away, that would be very cool.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    sog35 said:
    nhughes said:
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    I still find it strange that wireless charging is one of the tent pole features of the iPhone 8 (not so much with the X) and they won't have an Apple branded charger.

    I don't feel comfortable buying a non-Apple charger after the Samdung Note7 fiasco.

    Seems to be an easy accessory to make.
    Perhaps the tentpole feature is not wireless charging, but USB3 quick charging. I could envision Apple saying something like, "Now you can recharge your iPhone from 0% to 90% in 30 minutes." Brand it "Fast Fuel" like Beats, even. Who knows. Then wireless charging gets a passing mention: "And for those of you who want to use a charging pad or snap-on battery case, Belkin and Mophie will be offering their own options starting today."

    Aside from battery cases that don't cover the Lightning port, I'm with you — I don't really care about wireless charging. I think USB3 quick charging is a much bigger deal. Maybe Apple thinks the same way. We'll find out shortly.
    cornchip
  • Reply 12 of 18
    NY1822 said:
    we should be thinking about solar powered phones.....once our electric grid is zapped, most people are screwed...at least let them check their selfies
    Solar charging would be fine where I live in France... but in Manchester (UK, oop north) where I was born and bred I would be, as you subtly imply, screwed!
  • Reply 13 of 18
    I see the Apple Store is down....
  • Reply 14 of 18
    nhughes said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    nhughes said:
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    Yes, but leaving it to others…?
    That worked so well with the LG monitors. 
    wood1208 said:
    We will know in couple of hours. If Apple puts wireless chairing on iphone than wouldn't leave out it's own accompanying accessory at launch. .
    I agree with these sentiments, but must also note that the current state of charging with Apple products is a shitshow.

    Obvious example: If you buy a new MacBook Pro, you cannot charge your iPhone or iPad through it without spending $30 for a USB-C to Lightning cable. And if you buy an Apple Watch, there is no USB-C to watch cable *at all* — your only real option would be to buy a USB-C to Lightning cable, and then get Apple's $80 magnetic dock (with female Lightning port). That's like $110 plus tax just to charge your watch through your MacBook Pro.

    - It’s not problematic for the few with USBC computers to buy that cable for charging their iphone from it if desired. USBC is not yet ubiquitous and that’s ok. 

    - Charging the Watch from a laptop is an edge case. The Watch requires a nightly charge and it is unlikely you’d do this from a notebook. Majority use case is a dock or wall plug next to the bed. It doesn’t require mid-day charging at your desk. But if you must charge from the USBC MBP for some fringe reason, simply get a cheap usb dongle and use the supplied charging cable, done. 
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 15 of 18
    nhughes said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    nhughes said:
    sog35 said:
    'Wireless' charging is useless, except for a few special situations.


    Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't feel a need to have something at launch?
    Yes, but leaving it to others…?
    That worked so well with the LG monitors. 
    wood1208 said:
    We will know in couple of hours. If Apple puts wireless chairing on iphone than wouldn't leave out it's own accompanying accessory at launch. .
    I agree with these sentiments, but must also note that the current state of charging with Apple products is a shitshow.

    Obvious example: If you buy a new MacBook Pro, you cannot charge your iPhone or iPad through it without spending $30 for a USB-C to Lightning cable. And if you buy an Apple Watch, there is no USB-C to watch cable *at all* — your only real option would be to buy a USB-C to Lightning cable, and then get Apple's $80 magnetic dock (with female Lightning port). That's like $110 plus tax just to charge your watch through your MacBook Pro.

    - It’s not problematic for the few with USBC computers to buy that cable for charging their iphone from it if desired. USBC is not yet ubiquitous and that’s ok. 

    - Charging the Watch from a laptop is an edge case. The Watch requires a nightly charge and it is unlikely you’d do this from a notebook. Majority use case is a dock or wall plug next to the bed. It doesn’t require mid-day charging at your desk. But if you must charge from the USBC MBP for some fringe reason, simply get a cheap usb dongle and use the supplied charging cable, done. 
    At the moment, USB-C is the *only* way to get USB3 charging speeds via Lightning.

    Because USB-C is (as you noted) not yet ubiquitous, the question becomes: Will Apple ship a standard USB-A to Lightning cable (and 5W power adapter) with the iPhone X/8? Will they make customers pony up another ~$80 for quick charging capabilities as they do with the iPad Pro? If they ship with USB-C, they risk pissing off customers who have traditional laptops with USB-A ports. If they ship with USB-A, they make customers spend more to get a much desired feature. It's a tough spot to be in.
  • Reply 16 of 18
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    wood1208 said:
    We will know in couple of hours. If Apple puts wireless chairing on iphone than wouldn't leave out it's own accompanying accessory at launch. .
    Belkin is basically Apple's de facto accessory maker. Recall at the time the iPhone 7 launched, Apple had been working with Belkin to have a Lightning headphone adapter/charger adapter ready to go shortly after launch of the iPhone 7. 
  • Reply 17 of 18
    It seems really odd to me that Apple would not have this at launch. Maybe focusing on the important stuff? But really just seems crazy to me that they would not have their own wireless method from launch. Unless of course this is not true.
    If it's not perfect at launch it would be an immediate PR disaster. Let the other players show what they can do, let them set a low bar for expectations, then out-do them and make higher margins than them.
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